Today marks 61 days until the 2026 Huntsman World Senior Games, and this morning’s swim produced another major improvement in my race-specific training.
Yesterday’s workout produced a breakthrough 1500-meter freestyle. Today I followed that with a dedicated 800-meter freestyle in 12:40.25, cutting nearly 50 seconds from my previous standalone 800-meter training best.
More importantly, that time is now faster than the 2025 fourth-place Huntsman result in my age group and only 7.4 seconds behind last year’s bronze-medal time.
August 10 Workout Summary
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Distance | 2,500 m |
| Freestyle Distance | 1,575 m |
| Breaststroke Distance | 925 m |
| Total Swim Time | 41:32.6 |
| Total Rest Time | 7:50.8 |
| Total Session Time | 49:23.3 |
| Overall Swim Pace | 1:39.7 /100 m |
| Average Freestyle Pace | 1:33.3 /100 m |
| Average Breaststroke Pace | 1:50.6 /100 m |
| Average Moving Heart Rate | Approximately 130 bpm |
| Maximum Heart Rate | 159 bpm |
Workout Structure
The workout began with the dedicated 800-meter freestyle benchmark, followed by mixed 100-meter intervals and shorter freestyle and breaststroke repeats. Stroke identification was taken directly from the FORM file’s length-by-length stroke data.
| Set | Structure | Stroke Composition | Distance | Swim Time | Pace /100 | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 × 800 | 800 FR | 800 m | 12:40.25 | 1:35.03 | 0:37.2 |
| 2 | 100 | 25 FR / 75 BR | 100 m | 1:46.4 | 1:46.4 | 0:20.4 |
| 3 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:43.2 | 1:43.2 | 0:44.0 |
| 4 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:39.5 | 1:39.5 | 0:13.3 |
| 5 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:41.1 | 1:41.1 | 0:18.5 |
| 6 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:41.8 | 1:41.8 | 0:31.5 |
| 7 | 100 | 75 FR / 25 BR | 100 m | 1:38.1 | 1:38.1 | 0:14.8 |
| 8 | 100 | 25 FR / 75 BR | 100 m | 1:45.8 | 1:45.8 | 0:22.1 |
| 9 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:42.1 | 1:42.1 | 0:23.8 |
| 10 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:43.3 | 1:43.3 | 0:27.4 |
| 11 | 100 | 50 FR / 50 BR | 100 m | 1:42.2 | 1:42.2 | 0:23.2 |
| 12 | 100 | 100 FR | 100 m | 1:35.1 | 1:35.1 | 0:16.2 |
| 13 | 100 | 100 BR | 100 m | 1:48.0 | 1:48.0 | 0:46.2 |
| 14 | 50 | 50 FR | 50 m | 0:43.4 | 1:26.9 | 0:14.6 |
| 15 | 50 | 50 BR | 50 m | 0:51.5 | 1:43.0 | 0:18.5 |
| 16 | 50 | 50 FR | 50 m | 0:44.9 | 1:29.7 | 0:14.6 |
| 17 | 50 | 50 BR | 50 m | 0:54.2 | 1:48.3 | 0:17.8 |
| 18 | 100 | 100 BR | 100 m | 1:50.7 | 1:50.7 | 0:25.3 |
| 19 | 100 | 100 FR | 100 m | 1:35.4 | 1:35.4 | 0:14.8 |
| 20 | 50 | 50 BR | 50 m | 0:54.2 | 1:48.5 | 0:26.7 |
| 21 | 50 | 50 BR | 50 m | 0:51.4 | 1:42.8 | — |
The Big Result: 800M Freestyle
The first set of the workout was a continuous 800-meter freestyle completed in 12:40.25, averaging approximately 1:35.03 per 100 meters.
My previous standalone 800-meter training benchmark was 13:30.2 from August 5. Today’s result improves that benchmark by approximately 49.95 seconds.
| Performance | Time | Pace /100 m | Difference from Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Huntsman Bronze | 12:32.85 | 1:34.11 | 7.40 sec faster than today |
| 2025 Huntsman 4th | 12:56.76 | 1:37.10 | Today is 16.51 sec faster |
| 8/10/2026 Training | 12:40.25 | 1:35.03 | — |
This puts the 800-meter freestyle into a substantially different competitive position than it was only a week ago. Today’s training time is now comfortably faster than last year’s fourth-place performance and within single digits of the 2025 bronze-medal result.
800M Pacing
The 100-meter splits for the 800 were approximately:
| 100M | Split |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1:20.0 |
| 2 | 1:36.1 |
| 3 | 1:36.6 |
| 4 | 1:37.4 |
| 5 | 1:38.1 |
| 6 | 1:37.5 |
| 7 | 1:37.8 |
| 8 | 1:36.7 |
The first 100 meters was much quicker than the rest of the swim, after which the pace settled into a narrow range of approximately 1:36 to 1:38 per 100 meters.
Most importantly, there was no significant late fade. The final 100 was approximately 1:36.7, slightly faster than several of the middle splits. That indicates that the pace was sustainable rather than simply the result of an overly aggressive opening.
Breaststroke Work
Today was not primarily a breaststroke benchmark session. Most of the breaststroke work was incorporated into mixed intervals, with only a few clean dedicated breaststroke repeats.
The dedicated 100-meter breaststroke efforts were approximately 1:48.0 and 1:50.7, slower than my current 1:42.55 best from August 9. Therefore, the official 100-meter breaststroke benchmark does not change.
There was no continuous dedicated 200-meter breaststroke effort today, so the current 200-meter benchmark remains unchanged as well.
Updated Huntsman Benchmarks
| Event | Previous Best | Current Best | 2025 Bronze | 2025 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1500M Freestyle | 25:46.0 | 24:21.26 | 25:04.75 | 25:06.88 |
| 800M Freestyle | 13:30.2 | 12:40.25 ⭐ | 12:32.85 | 12:56.76 |
| 200M Breaststroke | 3:41.3 | 3:41.3 | 3:39.92 | 4:00.27 |
| 100M Breaststroke | 1:44.0 | 1:42.55 | 1:32.97 | 1:37.95 |
Current Gap to the 2025 Medal Standards
| Event | Current Benchmark | Gap to Bronze | Gap to 4th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500M Freestyle | 24:21.26 | 43.49 sec faster | 45.62 sec faster |
| 800M Freestyle | 12:40.25 | 7.40 sec behind | 16.51 sec faster |
| 200M Breaststroke | 3:41.3 | 1.38 sec behind | 18.97 sec faster |
| 100M Breaststroke | 1:42.55 | 9.58 sec behind | 4.60 sec behind |
Two Days, Two Major Freestyle Benchmarks
The last two workouts have dramatically changed the freestyle picture.
| Event | Previous Benchmark | New Benchmark | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500M Freestyle | 25:46.0 | 24:21.26 | 1:24.74 faster |
| 800M Freestyle | 13:30.2 | 12:40.25 | 49.95 sec faster |
Yesterday’s 1500 put my training performance clearly ahead of the 2025 bronze and fourth-place standards. Today’s 800 moved that event past the 2025 fourth-place benchmark and within 7.4 seconds of bronze.
61 Days to Go
There are still 61 days until the Huntsman World Senior Games, so these training results are not predictions of race-day placement. The 2026 field may be faster or slower than the 2025 field, and training swims are not the same as tapered competition performances.
What the benchmarks do provide is an objective way to measure progress.
At this point, the 1500-meter freestyle has moved beyond last year’s bronze standard, the 800-meter freestyle is within 7.4 seconds of bronze, the 200-meter breaststroke remains only 1.38 seconds from the 2025 bronze time, and the 100-meter breaststroke remains within 4.6 seconds of fourth place.
The encouraging part is that all four events are now within meaningful range of the 2025 competitive benchmarks, with another two months of training still remaining.
Today’s headline: 800 meters in 12:40.25 — a new training best, faster than the 2025 fourth-place Huntsman time and only 7.4 seconds from last year’s bronze.
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